Out of Focus #SYTYCW15 Top10 Finalist! [COMPLETED]

7| Letting Go

Legs numb, Eva lowered, very carefully, back into her seat. "Holy shit."

Jerry's laugh barked, dry as dust. "Yeah, right."

Head spinning, Eva answered his abrupt laugh with a weak one of her own. Twenty-seven thousand dollars! The difference this was going to make...finally. Finally they had what they needed for a fresh start. Closure. The means to set down roots-deep, long lasting, unshakable roots. It had only taken four years.

"Still can't believe Nathan had the nerve to hold back on child support." And as always, when thinking of her self-centered ex, Eva's temper spiked. Didn't he care about the girls' welfare at all? How the hell was she supposed to do right by them-support them-when he'd did his level best to tie up everything she had in court?

Because he's selfish, the small and dark part of her snarled, even though on the flip side she understood his frustration and hurt. As a parent, he'd lost everything. Not that he'd ever shown much care or interest when the girls were underfoot. And he could have come along and entered the program, too, she reminded herself.

But Nathan wasn't willing to make the necessary sacrifices required of him and opted out. The house, the business-his friends-were all more important. Only once they were six months gone into the program did Nathan decide to change his tune.

But by then it was too late. The die had been cast, and there was no going back.

"Is he still pushing for access?"

"Course," Jerry sighed. "Still singing the same tune. It was your actions that put the kids in danger in the first place, blah, blah, blah. Sob, sob, sob."

Eva tightly clenched teeth ground together, locked so tight her jaw ached. Bastard would say that, she thought. And she'd agonized and blamed herself enough over the years spent in hiding. Who would have thought a night a bar would have led her down this messy road?

"But facts haven't changed," Jerry continued. "You were sole custodial parent for a solid year before this mess. He doesn't have a leg to stand on. He thinks clearing the funds is going to give him some sway, but the thing is...even if the judge does side with him in the end, there's no way for him to pin you. Not now. Your names have changed and all that paperwork is sealed. No one's gonna find you. Not without deep pockets and serious legal pull."

Because her heart was threatening to burst through her ribcage, Eva settled a hand over it. "Four years," she whispered. "I've waited for this for Four years."

"Took longer then I expected, but what can I tell ya, kiddo. This ain't my first rodeo."

"What about...?" She couldn't bring herself to finish the question. Not that she needed to. There were only two things Eva ever asked whenever they had these clandestine check-ins. The first was, apparently, no longer an issue. As for the second...

The line hummed with silence. "Can't discuss the case. You know that."

"Come on, Jerry." Finger curling around the cord, Eva sank on the corner of her desk. "I need to know if it's...over. Is Randy gone for good?"

"I'd've told ya if he was. As it stands now, don't think that's going to happen for a while yet."

"How much longer can he possibly drag this out?"

"Let it go, kiddo, okay? Live your life. Leave the rest of the worrying to me. Nathan...Randy...both of them are not your problem anymore."